Modern data processing systems, such as general purpose computer systems, allow the users of such systems to create a variety of different types of data files. For example, a typical user of a data processing system may create text files with a word processing program such as Microsoft Word or may create an image file with an image processing program such as Adobe's Photoshop. Numerous other types of files are capable of being created or modified, edited, and otherwise used by one or more users for a typical data processing system The large number of the different types of files that can be created or modified can present a challenge to a typical user who is seeking to find a particular file which has been created.
Modern data processing systems often include a file management system which allows a user to place files in various directories or subdirectories (e.g. folders) and allows a user to give the file a name. Further, these file management systems often allow a user to find a file by searching for the file's name, or the date of creation, or the date of modification, or the type of file. An example of such a file management system is the Finder program which operates on Macintosh computers from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Another example of a file management system program is the Windows Explorer program which operates on the Windows operating system from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. Both the Finder program and the Windows Explorer program include a find command which allows a user to search for files by various criteria including a file name or a date of creation or a date of modification or the type of file.
These various search programs available today each provide a user interface in order to configure parameters to define the scope of a search. For example, referring to FIG. 1A which illustrates an exemplary search program containing a user interface object and search input region with a drop down menu in a user interface display according to the prior art. FIG. 1A includes portions of FIG. 14A of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005-0289109, which is incorporated by reference herein. FIG. 1A shows examples of a window in a graphical user interface file system, which runs on an operating system, such as a Macintosh operating system. This window shows the results of a particular search and also the ability to save and use a smart folder which saves a prior search. The window 1401 shown in FIG. 1A includes a display region 1403, a user configurable region 1405, a smart folder 1406, a system specified region 1407, an icon view button 1409, a list view button 1410, and a column view button 1411. The window 1401 also includes a text entry region 1415 and a user interface object 1431. The text entry region 1415 is used to input search terms and user interface object 1431 includes a drop down menu of prior/recent searches. FIG. 1A shows the activation of a menu by selecting the search button 1431, causing a display of a menu having two entries 1433 and 1435. Entry 1433 displays recently performed searches and/or other prior searches so that a user may merely recall a prior search by selecting the prior search and cause the prior search to be run again. The menu selection 1435 allows the user to clear the list of recent searches in the menu.
Window 1401 further includes location slice 1416 which may be used to specify the location for the search, which slice also includes a save button 1417. Additional slices below the slice 1416 allow the user to specify further details with respect to the search, in this case specifying types of documents which are images which were last viewed this week. The user has set the search parameters in this manner by selecting the “kind” option from the pull down menu 1419 and by selecting the “images” type from the pull down menu 1420 and by selecting the “last viewed” option from pull down menu 1418 and by selecting “this week” from the pull down menu 1422. The user has also selected “everywhere” by selecting the button 1421 so that the search will be performed on all disks and storage devices connected to this system. The results are shown within the display region 1403. The user can then save the search query by selecting the “save” button 1417 and may name the saved search query as “this week's images” to produce the smart folder 1406 as shown in the user configurable portion 1405. This allows the user to repeat this search at a later time by merely selecting the smart folder 1406 which causes the system to perform a new search again, and all data which matches the search criteria will be displayed within the display region 1403. Thus, after several weeks, a repeating of this search by selecting the smart folder 1406 will produce an entirely different list if none of the files displayed in the display region 1403 of FIG. 1A are viewed in the last week from the time in which the next search is performed by selecting the smart folder 1406.
However, many of the prior art search programs are overly complicated and include require entry of complex search strings and require the presentation of a complicated search menu in order to configure parameters to perform a search.